Homecoming or Coming Home
by ayakane
Summary: It's Ryu's last day. My thoughts on how the movie should have ended. Spoilers for Gokusen: The Movie. Don't own Gokusen; not the manga, the anime, nor the drama.


Homecoming or Coming Home

My thoughts on how Gokusen should have ended. Some spoilers for Gokusen: The Movie.

PG-13, just to be safe.

The day couldn't have begun any better, Yankumi thought as she walked into the school. On the way to school that morning, she had been met by Minami Yoichi; he was doing well in his chosen profession. Noda Takeshi showed up right after, stating that he'd had trouble at work, but Yankumi's words from when he was her student encouraged him to continue. He further said that she was a teacher their class was proud of, before taking his leave. A short while later, none other than Uchiyama Haruhiko appeared before her, telling her to stay the same. She saw Kuma often so knew he was doing well; the only one from the class she still wondered about was Sawada Shin. It had been seven long years since she had last seen him. Well, couldn't be helped; he was out of the country, after all. Anyway, there were other more important things to think about right now.

She was met at the office door by Sawatari Goro, principal now of Akadou Gakuen. She was stunned when he called her the pride of the school. Even more unbelieveable was the offer of a magazine interview, and the fact that the phones were ringing off their hooks from people calling to congratulate her. And here she thought she was going to be fired for her and her students' antics the previous day! Well, it was time to get to class, so calling to her trainee, the two walked out of the room and down the hall.

This was to be Odagiri Ryu's final day as a trainee teacher. "We need to do something special to commemorate this day," Yamaguchi Kumiko thought as she and said young man made their way to classroom 3-D. The usually boisterous class was calmly sitting in their seats waiting for class to begin. Yankumi stepped to her podium and announced that as it was Ryu's last day, they would play Kick the Can. Amidst cries of "Huh?" and "What!?", she grabbed Ryu and pushed him ahead of her out the door. Takasugi Reita stood and headed for the door, and was soon followed by his friends and classmates. They were soon joined by members of the staff in a fun afternoon playing kick the can.

The can sailed through the air, hitting Yankumi on the head. She bent to retrieve the offending object, laughing along with everyone else. "Yosh!," she yelled holding the can aloft. "Let's run into the sunset!" With that she took off running, followed by Odagiri Ryu and her current 3-D class.

Running along the path by the river, she stopped and turned towards her students, not noticing the man walking towards them. "Everyone! Follow my lead!" she cried. "YOSH!" replied the class.

Clapping was heard; they all turned to look. A good looking man was approaching the group. "Same old Yankumi," he said with a smile.

Yankumi's jaw dropped; she couldn't believe her eyes. "S-S-Sawada Shin?!"

The young man gave a mock bow, smirking a familiar smirk. The next thing he knew, he was tackled to the ground by an over-enthusiastic math teacher. She was laying on him with her face buried in his chest, while trying to squeeze the life out of him. Shin could hear muffled sobs and murmurs of "Why?" coming from the bespectacled woman. "Why?" he asked, puzzled. That wasn't the first question he expected to hear from her.

Sitting up, wiping tears from her face, she replied, "Yes, why? Why did you stay away for so long? Why didn't you write? Why didn't you let us know you were coming home!?" Glaring angrily at her former student, she crossed her arms and waited for him to answer, forgetting she was straddling his lap.

Class 3-D and Odagiri Ryu gaped at the scene. What was going on? Who was this man? Why was their teacher behaving like this? Their jaws hit the ground when the man suddenly reached up, grabbed the back of Yankumi's head and pulled her in for a deep kiss. She wasn't fighting back! They watched in shock as the kiss broke, and their teacher hurriedly climbed to shaky feet. Yankumi was blushing! This couldn't be her boyfriend, could it?

Climbing to his feet, he faced the onlookers. "Well, Yankumi? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Flustered, the woman stuttered. "C-class, this is one of my first students, Sa-Sawada Shin. He's been working outside the country since he graduated. I-I'm j-just surprised to see him." She refused to look at anyone, color still running high in her cheeks.

They all called out greetings which he acknowledged with a nod. Wrapping his arm around Yankumi's waist, he suggested they head back to the school. As they walked, many of the students murmured behind them, wondering about the relationship the two had. A good-looking guy liking their ditzy teacher!? No way! There had to be something wrong with his head.

Odagiri Ryu wasn't so sure; he was thinking back to the conversation at Kuma's ramen shop his first day of teaching. The most recent graduates of 3-D had seemed to think Yankumi could never appeal to a guy. Kuma seemed to think so, too, but Ryu had seen some very interesting sides to the woman. She was smart, clutzy, strong, passionate, naive, and so very endearing. If she were a few years younger, or he a few years older, Ryu knew that he would be vying for her affections. Yankumi had that sort of effect on people.

Reita would never lose his cool, but seeing that guy with his arm around Yankumi's waist, he started to feel his blood boil. What was it about the guy he didn't like? Or was it jealousy? Why should he be jealous that another man was close to his teacher? She was only his teacher, after all. And had saved his ass a number of times. The first time had been during the previous school year, and she hadn't even been his teacher at the time. Argh! What was wrong with him!? Did he have a crush on the woman!? Impossible! She was almost twice his age. Maybe he just didn't want her to marry yet, and resign. That must be it; she was the only teacher who ever believed in them, and he wanted to keep her as their teacher till graduation. After that, the older man could take her away.

Yankumi hadn't stopped blushing; it felt strange to have Shin's arm around her. And to do THAT in front of her entire class! Not that she didn't like it; it just embarrassed her. Shin was her student; she should have reprimanded him. No. No, he's not your student anymore, she reminded herself. He's a grown man now. A very handsome man. Yankumi cast a glance at his profile, noticing faint lines at the corners of his eyes. His skin was a coppery tan, making the lines stand out more. He looks tired, she thought. Had he just arrived back in Japan? Had he even been home to see his family? "Sawada? When did you get in? Do your parents know you're back yet?"

"Kumiko. First, I'm no longer your student. I think you should call me Shin from now on. Secondly, I came here straight from the airport. And no, my family doesn't know I'm here yet. Anything else you wish to ask?" He gave her a sardonic gaze, quirking an eyebrow.

Averting her eyes, Yankumi bit her lip. 'Why did he come here first? Did he come specifically to see me?' Turning to face him with her questions, she wasn't prepared for the second kiss. She stiffened in his arms, but as the kiss deepened, her arms rose automatically to wrap around his neck, one hand fisting in his hair. Forget the 25 young, impressionable minds they were currently scarring. Forget that he was 5 years younger than her. Forget that he used to be her student. The only thing in Yankumi's mind was that Shin tasted good! She wanted more, wanted to get closer to him. She could feel a bulge throbbing against her belly, and her stomach tightened in response. The kiss broke, leaving them both panting for air. Opening her eyes, she stared up into liquid pools of inky darkness. A fire seemed to burn in their depths, a fire just for her.

"I've waited seven years to do that, Kumiko. I came back for you, only you. Will you finally see me as a man, and not as one of your students?"

Yamaguchi Kumiko, a woman who was never at a loss for words, suddenly had nothing to say. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Was he saying what she thought he was? Did...did he....did he love....love her?! After all this time, there was actually a man who could return her feelings? Wait! What!? Return her feelings!? What exactly were her feelings for this man? She had missed him, sure. She thought about him all the time. She was overjoyed he was back. Maybe she really did love him. Looking him square in the eye, she whispered, "Sawada Shin, I love you." She was half-prepared for the crushing hug, and even for being swung around. There was no way to ready herself for the loud whoop of joy he gave. Her ears were still ringing when he set her back on her feet. She barely heard it when Odagiri Ryu walked up and congratulated them, shaking Shin's hand. Yankumi was also unaware of her class heading quietly back to school on their own. Her eyes were focused solely on the man in front of her.

After a few minutes, the sensible woman snapped back to herself. "You're coming for dinner tonight; I won't take no for an answer. I'll give Tetsu a call to let him know to fix extra. Do you want to go home first, or just wait until I finish my work at school?" Looking around she was surprised that they were alone. "Where did everybody go?"

Shin laughed. "They've gone back already. Let's head back, too. I need to speak to the principal anyway." Taking her hand, the two headed to the school.

"Sawatari-kyoto!?"

"Sawada Shin!?"

The two men stared in near-horror at each other. Neither could believe that seven years later, they would be meeting face to face like this once again.

Odagiri was packing up his belongings, and shook his head at the exchange. So Sawatari was vice-principal of Shirokin Gakuen, too? How bizarre! Had Yankumi been following the head teacher, or vice-versa? Maybe it had just been a fluke, them being in the same schools. He wasn't too surprised to find that Sawada was there seeking a teaching position, though. Look at him; if it hadn't been for his crazy teacher, he never would have thought to take the teacher training course. Smiling, he finished with his bag. Taking this course, and coming to this school had been a good thing; it felt like he had come home.

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Hope you enjoyed!


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